Grooming a dog with Addison's?

[flamincomet]

I got a call from a client who wants me to come groom her dog this Sunday. She asked me if my dryer was hot, or if it's has ever malfunctioned, which I thought was a little odd. I told her no, it doesn't have a heating element and just gets a little warm from the engine, and that no it has never malfunctioned. She said she's asking because her dog (A shih tzu/pom) has Addison's, and last time she got it groomed the groomer used the dryer on it for too long and he almost went into a crisis. I told her we could work around that and towel dry him for a while, and take breaks from drying if we need to. I think/hope he will be a lot less stressed because I will be grooming him in-home. She also said he [i]really[/i] needs to be groomed, which makes me a little nervous, but that she wants a reasonable length of hair left on him (we'll see).

Now, I've never groomed a dog with Addison's, but have done a little research, and would really appreciate any tips or advice from more experienced groomers who have dealt with this disease. I plan on having her sign a release form, but what should it entail? I don't have any yet, so I need to type out my own. I do have insurance from Gibson.

Thanks,
Autumn

[FalconVT]

I have a 167 lb 3 yr old Saint Bernard with Addison's Disease. She is on medication in order to balance her potassium and sodium levels, and takes prednisone to maintain her appetite and energy. It's a little more complicated than that, but basically, her adrenal gland does not produce the chemicals neccessary to maintain these functions. "When not properly medicated" an addisonian can go into failure. The only issue might be that the dog tires , and runs low on energy afterwards, and might need a little correction with an extra dose of prednisone to pick it up. Other than that, just like any other dog, try not to stress them out. I am sure that the dog will be fine.

[bubblesaway]

My St Poo has Addison's, she's had it for 8 yrs now, As FalconVT said I wouldn't worry to much.. I do a few with it as well, I do up my dogs Pred by a 1/2 a tab and have my clients to the same. Stress is the biggest factor and the extra Pred will counter act it...

[Kifaru]

Practice your "it's in the dog's best interest" speech, and don't agree to a longer trim than you can do easily. Just stay low key and you should all be fine. Grooming at home may help, but you may need to teach the owner to sit on her hands and stay out of your way if this is the first time they're doing house-call.
A Shih Tzu - Pom mix shouldn't take long to dry! I do a house-call family where I get mama to toss towels into the dryer as I pull the dogs out of their bath, they get wrapped in a big fluffy warm towel and are usually just damp by the time I start to fluff dry, so it takes just a few minutes, and they get a break between bath and dry. It works for us and keeps mama busy.